Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, , for the United States Antarctic Program December 26, 2004 Ice at risk Scientists survey West Antarctic glaciers that may be sliding away By Kristan Hutchison Sun staff A cloud-shrouded and hard-to-reach piece of Antarctica may be in danger of slipping into the sea. Satellite images from the past decade show two of the glaciers draining the West Antarctic Ice Sheet have been rapidly melting, thinning and retreating. This is changing the delicate balance that keeps the 3km-thick ice sheet stable. “The dynamics of the ice sheet are changing. That is very significant,” said David Morse, a glaciologist from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. He is part of a team of 15 American and British researchers trying to do an airborne geophysical sur- vey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, or AGASEA. Photo courtesy of Jill Mikucki / Special to The Antarctic Sun Two of the fastest-flowing glaciers in Antarctica, Jill Mikucki takes samples of water flowing from Blood Falls, the red-colored waterfall that comes out of the behind her. She studies microbes the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, flow into the in the iron-rich water. Amundsen Sea. They comprise the third of three major drainages for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and The bleeding glacier See AGASEA on page 9 By Kristan Hutchison fissures. When the sun hits it at the Late night dining Sun staff right angle on a windless day, clear In some places, blood-red water water melts down in rivulets, gather- By Brien Barnett gushing from ice ing in streams at its sides. Sun staff would become a religious shrine, or But Blood Falls oozes, trickles or It’s long after midnight, but the bright mid-summer at least a tourist destination. cascades down the front of the glac- sun streams through the windows of the dining hall at In the McMurdo Dry Valleys, it ier on its own schedule, spreading a the elevated South Pole Station as dining attendant became the site of intense scientific rusty red across Lake Bonney’s Catherine Graciano wipes down the counters next to investigation. The explanation for frozen surface the way blood from a the beverages. the red waterfall involves a hidden fresh cut seeps through a bandage. She’s singing along with songs she’s heard before, remnant of an ancient sea harboring “People have been really fasci- but doesn’t know well. It’s ‘80s night on the iPod and an isolated community of microbes nated by it since they first discov- the night-shift kitchen crew is hard at work. deep under the Taylor Glacier. ered it,” said Kathy Welch, a Graciano wanted to work in Antarctica, but her sis- The Taylor Glacier flows into the research scientist from the Byrd ter was getting married and she knew she couldn’t Taylor Valley in the Transantarctic Polar Research Center. “It’s such a skip the ceremony. She turned down an offer to work Mountains, carrying ice from the unique feature. People want to in McMurdo’s kitchen so she could attend the wed- Antarctic Plateau. It’s a 30m-tall wall of sparkling ice, with deep blue See Blood Falls on page 4 See Midrats on page 11 INSIDE Quote of the Week Algae produces sea Pop quiz — Test “The only thing holding up this smell and clouds your knowledge issue is the quote of the week.” Page 7 Page 3 - Antarctic Sun editor

www.polar.org/antsun 2 • The Antarctic Sun December 26, 2004

Ross Island Chronicles By Chico

Hey! Read I hope Santa got my What is this? what the presents right this year. This isn’t a card says. predator drone! Cold, hard facts B-15 iceberg Original size (in 2000): 10,850 sq km ATTITUDE?! “This is an Largest piece remaining: B-15A, 3,000 sq WHAT attitude km (the one at the top of McMurdo Sound) mask to ATTITUDE?! Amount of fresh water in original berg: help I don’t have an More than 1,000 trillion gallons attitude! I get change Approximate value of the fresh water in the along with everyone. yours. original B-15 iceberg: $320 billion Merry And if anyone How deep if spread across all of world’s disagrees with me Christmas. agricultural land: 10cm we can settle it - Santa” How old is the ice: hundreds of years right now! Thickness below water: 400 meters Height above water: 30 meters Someone is going to get their It’s actually quite comfortable. It Life expectancy: unknown, but will be kneecaps broken for this might do wonders for your image. measured in years slander on my character. How often do 100-mile bergs calve: about every 10 to 15 years How long will it take to replace this much ice at the edge of Antarctica’s : 20 to 40 years Is it the biggest berg ever? Not sure, since satellite tracking only began in 1976. Source: Doug MacAyeal; AMRC, http://amrc.ssec.wisc.edu/icebergfaq.html#A1

The Antarctic Sun is funded by the National Matt Davidson Science Foundation as part of the United States Antarctic Program (OPP-000373). Its primary audience is U.S. Antarctic Program participants, their fami- lies, and their friends. NSF reviews and approves material before publication, but opinions and conclusions expressed in The Sun are not necessarily those of the Foundation. Use: Reproduction and distribution are encouraged with acknowledgment of source and author. Senior Editor: Kristan Hutchison Editors: Brien Barnett, Emily Stone Copy Editors: Karl Horeis, Hunter Slaton, Wendy Kober, Amanda Barnett, Katie Togneri Publisher: Valerie Carroll, Communications manager, RPSC Contributions are welcome. Contact The Sun at [email protected]. In McMurdo, visit our office in Building 155 or dial 2407. Web address: www.polar.org/antsun December 26, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 3

By Emily Stone, Sun staff Did you know that humans and dinosaurs New York Times’ Tuesday science section, did not live at the same time, or that an elec- which is the equivalent of a college freshman tron is smaller than an atom? If so, congratu- level of understanding. This would give a per- lations. You can join the roughly 45 percent son the knowledge needed to participate in of other Americans who knew these scientific public policy debates about science. facts, according to studies conducted by Jon Here's a highly unscientific test of your Miller, a professor at Northwestern University. Antarctic science literacy. It has not been cali- Miller is part of an ongoing effort to meas- ure the public's level of "science literacy." brated to New York Times’ standards, but it's Just under 20 percent of Americans are sci- the kind of information you'd learn if you entifically literate, according to his research. went to the weekly science lectures, faithfully He defines a scientifically literate person as read your Antarctic Sun, and maybe even someone who can read and understand the talked to a beaker or two in the dining hall.

1.What is not a type of quark: up, down, top, bottom, silly, strange, charmed? 2. Match the word with its definition: Baryon elementary particle with zero charge and spin, very small mass and weak interactions with matter Neutrino elementary particle similar to an electron but with a mass that is 207 times greater Muon a heavy subatomic particle made up of three quarks

3. B-15, the iceberg that calved into the Ross Sea in 2000, was the largest iceberg ever measured. How big was it? a. Roughly the size of Manhattan, which is 60 square kilometers b. Roughly the size of Long Island, which is 3,566 square kilometers c. Roughly the size of Jamaica, which is 11,000 square kilometers d. Roughly the size of Sicily, which is 25,708 square kilometers

4. Why is the Antarctic circumpolar current so important? a. At 21,000 kilometers, it is the world's largest current. b. It is the only current that touches the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. c. It plays a crucial role in the formation of cold, dense, nutrient-rich bottom water. d. All of the above 5. How much would the world's sea level rise if the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet melted? 6. True or False: There are more meteorites in Antarctica than anywhere else on Earth. 7. More than 98 percent of Antarctica is covered in ice. This hasn't always been the case. How many years ago do some scientists believe the current glaciers started covering the continent? 8. How long, in minutes, was the longest recorded dive by an emperor penguin? 9. What percent of their body mass do female seals lose during the first 30 days after giving birth to a pup?

10. Why don't polar bears eat penguins? a. Penguins are too fast for polar bears to catch. b. Penguins taste bad. c. Polar bears can't digest feathers. d. They live at opposite ends of the Earth.

Check your answers on page 10 Page designed by Matt Davidson 4 • The Antarctic Sun December 26, 2004

Blood Falls From page 1 understand the chemistry and the physics behind it.” Seeking the source When geologist Griffith Taylor saw the glacier’s front in 1911, he wrote that “bright alga lent an unusual touch of colour.” The red waterfall became known as Blood Falls. Researchers began study- ing it in the 1960s, when University of Wisconsin scientist Robert Black deter- mined that the red came not from algae, but from iron. The McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) group has now analyzed more than 10 years of sam- ples from the falls. That analysis suggests that the reddish salts in the water were deposits formed at the site of an ancient Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun lake bed when the ocean receded from the Iron-rich water spills out of the Taylor Glacier and stains the surface of Lake Bonney. The valley 3 to 5 million years ago. When the water is thought to come from the remnant of an ancient sea trapped below the glacier. Taylor Glacier advanced over the top of the lake, the seawater was trapped beneath. Blood Falls water still smells a lot like “It’s very hard to get a smoking gun, especially when seawater. Broken down into its chemical parts, it looks a lot like seawater too. you’re trying to look back millions of years in the past.” “The sodium, magnesium and potassi- um concentrations aren’t exactly the same — Jill Mikucki, graduate student (as seawater), but the ratios are the same, so we use that to indicate that the original what struck Mikucki’s when she saw a that make sense at least hypothetically to source of that water was probably seawa- photo of Blood Falls in a glaciology class. the environment that they’re in,” Mikucki ter,” Welch said. “The first thought that went through my said. Other evidence also indicates that head was what microbes are there, because Without drilling through 30m or more something unusual is buried beneath here was a large source of free energy,” of ice, she can only sample the water that Taylor Glacier. Though the Taylor and Mikucki said. “You think pagan worship runs out of the falls, not whatever pocket other glaciers in the Dry Valleys are all ceremony. I’m sure Kathy thinks, ‘Ooo, of water is below the glacier. Based on the polar, dry land glaciers, the Taylor chlorides and ions.’ I think microbial microbes she has found in the falls, behaves more like a marine-based glacier, food.” Mikucki suspects there is an active com- indicating it may have some kind of salty When she joined the LTER project in munity under the ice. water at its base. Radar surveys of the 2001, Mikucki set out to “put a name on A few of the microbes may turn out to glacier in the 1970s found an anomaly these bugs.” be new species or genus, with potentially underneath the glacier, which could repre- She cloned the microbes and looked at useful traits, Mikucki said. The Dry sent a pool of ancient marine water. pieces of their genetic code, called riboso- Valleys are also similar in temperature, “It’s very hard to get a smoking gun, mal DNA. Ribosomes are involved in pro- climate and moisture to Mars, and a Blood especially when you’re trying to look back tein construction. Because the building of Falls-like environment might exist under millions of years in the past, but you can proteins is so vital to life, the DNA that the Martian ice caps. So the falls provide get multiple lines of evidence that say hey, codes for ribosomes is highly conserved scientists a place to develop theories and it’s worth considering,” said Jill Mikucki, and thought to be unique to individual techniques they will someday apply to a graduate student working with microbi- species. They represent core traits that exploring other planets. ologist John Priscu at Montana State don’t go through as many changes as other The glacier hides other mysteries as University. “Here we have physical, geo- genes do. well. Researchers still aren’t sure what chemical, possible paleohistory and “It’s like an I.D. tag,” Mikucki said, dynamics cause the falls to start or stop microbial evidence that it might be possi- “like a dog tag for microbes.” flowing, how heavy the flow is, or how bly an ancient marine ecosystem.” After several years of research, large any remnant sea below the glacier If it is, then Blood Falls is like a tap into Mikucki found the microbes living in the might be, Mikucki said. the oceans of the past. And that past could falls are similar in type to microbes found Water from the falls eventually seeps still be alive. in other extreme cold environments with into Lake Bonney and settles to the bot- The red color of the water is a reduced the same food sources, including organ- tom, so it is also possible that the ecosys- form of iron, probably coming from rocks isms from arctic and antarctic environ- tem in the bottom of the lake is similar to weathering beneath the glacier, Welch ments, marine organisms, deep subsurface whatever is below the Taylor Glacier. said. The iron-rich water turns red when it organisms, sulfate reducing organisms, mixes with the oxygen in the air. The and organisms from environments lacking NSF-funded research in this story: reduced iron is a form that some microbes oxygen. John Priscu, Montana State University, can use instead of oxygen, which was “We find an entourage of organisms www.homepage.montana.edu/~lkbonney/ December 26, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 5 around the continent

tion were a success. SOUTH POLE In preparation for Christmas, community Bang! It’s Christmas members hung stockings, or creative varia- tions on stocking, in the dining room. A krill By Brenda Everitt net, bird weighing bag, radio belt and large South Pole correspondent plastic graduated cylinder became stock- South Pole residents have had their ings. On Sunday, residents decorated cook- minds on everything from bingo to the Big ies and constructed gingerbread houses. Bang. The cruise ship Polar Star arrived, not to James Brown, a sous chef at the Pole, be confused with the Coast Guard icebreak- hosted “Christmas bingo” Dec. 18 in the er preparing to cut a channel to McMurdo dining hall. It was well attended. For the Station. Station residents greeted 99 visitors grand finale, James revealed a bingo card from the cruise ship at 8 a.m. Tour guides painted on his chest that matched the win- led groups around Palmer Station, to the ning card in the audience. The lucky winner store and to the informal reception, called received a gift certificate to the Tramway Photo courtesy of Scot Jackson / Special to The Antarctic Sun “meet and greet” in the dining room. The restaurant in Christchurch, New Zealand, A South Pole resident carves a sculpture. Polar Star was the first cruise ship of the worth $80. Other prizes included gift cer- season. We expect many more in January. While blatantly selling Polies on the Big tificates to various establishments in On Tuesday, Tim Kramer presented a Christchurch, as well as merchandise from Bang theory with data from the South Pole and other cutting-edge research, Holzapfel slide show of his travels in Papua New Pole Mart (the station store) and the final Guinea for our science lecture. Kramer, a left his audience with room for suspenseful prize of the evening, which is always the former waste technician from McMurdo, is questions about what the missing pieces of cash received from the bingo cards that the waste specialist at Palmer. He traveled night. the puzzle could mean. Clues to the miss- ing pieces—such as what are dark matter in Papua New Guinea in the spring of 2003. Large blocks of snow were quarried and Then on Wednesday, the Laurence M. and dark energy— could drastically simpli- left near the ceremonial south pole during Gould arrived at Palmer Station after a few fy or merely convolute the accepted view of the past week. On Sunday, sculptors tried weeks sampling for benthic marine inverte- their hand at various designs ranging from the beginning of the universe. brates across the Drake Passage, south of Holzapfel pointed out that attempts to cars to heads to geometrical shapes. The Tierra del Fuego and along the Antarctic answer big questions by disproving other snow sculpture contest continues through- Peninsula. The Gould also supported sci- ideas and theories often leads to a better out the week, and will be judged on ence research sampling for salps, a macro- Christmas Day during the annual Race understanding of the Big Bang. He encour- zooplankton, at the northern edge of the aged his audience to seek the truth through Around the World. peninsula. This port call was a fast, experimentation, as that is what drives the The ceremonial pole was noticeably overnight turnover and left station with five absent for several days while being repaint- exciting projects at the South Pole and oth- ers worldwide. Palmer members including our station man- ed. The brightly colored pole was returned ager, Joe Pettit. On the return to Punta — Katie Hess contributed to this report. on Sunday morning, complete with Arenas, the Gould made an operational stop Christmas decorations. at Cape Shirreff. The next arrival of the A Russian expedition will be arriving Gould will see the beginning of the Long during the coming week to repair the PALMER Term Ecological Research cruise and the Antonov-3 airplane that has been stored at arrival of the Palmer Area Director, Bob the South Pole Station since 2002 after it Hanukkah and ships Farrell. broke down. A team of eight Russians will By Kerry Kells be working on the airplane. Additional spe- Palmer correspondent SHIPS cialists will be at McMurdo, ready for day- The holiday season at Palmer Station has trips to the South Pole as their expertise is begun. After Thanksgiving, several commu- Nathaniel B. Palmer needed. nity members helped prepare a Hanukkah Compiled from reports by Alice Doyle Prof. Bill Holzapfel, of the University of meal of brisket, matzah ball soup, kugel, California at Berkeley, gave a rousing lec- The research vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer potato latkes and chopped liver followed by departed Lyttelton, New Zealand, on Dec. ture Dec. 19, arguing that the Big Bang is mandelbrot and rugelach cookies. They also the best theory to describe the beginning of 18 and encountered bad weather right off played with a dreidel, the traditional four- the pier. The storm sent many passengers to the universe given the scientific evidence. sided top, and had a menorah, an eight- He also outlined opposing theories. branched candelabra. The meal and celebra- See Continent on page 6

the week in weather

McMurdo Station Palmer Station South Pole Station (Dec. 17-24) High: 39F / 4C High: 44F / 7C High: -6F / -21C Low: 19F / -7C Low: 22F / -5C Low: -18F / -28C Max. sustained wind: 30mph / 48kph Max. sustained wind: 28mph / 45kph Peak wind: 21mph / 34kph Windchill: -11F / -24C Precipitation: 3mm Max. Physio-altitude: 3,098m 6 • The Antarctic Sun December 26, 2004 ations from McMurdo Station, they will go South Pole Traverse Continent From page 5 to points in the Dry Valleys and near Franklin Island. In addition, the aircrews Compiled from reports by John Wright their beds, while the crew was busy finish- will continue to support the Star by flying The South Pole traverse is now at the ing smaller projects left from the portcall. mail, parts and arriving crewmembers to the base of the Leverett Glacier. When the winds and seas calmed the next ship while the icebreaker cuts a channel for day, faces last seen as they departed the The traverse started out Nov. 13, making resupply vessels to reach McMurdo. much better time than last year. Better con- dock in Lyttelton began to reappear. ditions and the packed trail left from last “We are hoping for the calm seas to con- Krasin year allowed the vehicles to pull their sled tinue, but realize another low is on its way At last report, the Russian icebreaker towards us as we continue south,” wrote loads smoothly for the first few weeks with- Krasin was headed south from Vladivostok, out having to shuttle. Modifications made to marine projects coordinator Alice Doyle. Russia. The icebreaker is expected to arrive the sleds this year proved successful early at McMurdo Sound around Jan. 15 and will on, allowing the sleds to glide with less Laurence M. Gould serve as a backup to the Polar Star under a resistance and no need to stop for repairs. A Compiled from reports by Skip Owen 100-day contract. fifth tractor also helped share the load with The Laurence M. Gould finished up the the four from last year. southernmost sampling stations and began ALSO ON THE ICE The team set a routine of rising and eat- its transit back to the Gerlache Straits where ing breakfast before 7 a.m., when they start it spent another day on science. Then the Long duration balloons warming the engines. A morning meeting ship had to transit through the pack ice in Compiled by Brien Barnett and last-minute chores are completed by the Bismarck Channel. The scientists con- Sun staff 7:30 a.m. when the tractors and loads head ducted the last few benthic stations and an One long duration balloon experiment south. The lunch and refueling stop is called overnight dive. has been cut loose and parachuted back to at 12:30, and after the hour break they con- After a relatively busy call at Palmer the ice below for recovery while another tinue the journey. Station Dec. 16 and 17, the Gould crossed to continues to circle the continent. The vehicles finally stop for the day Croker Passage and took more samples. The BESS (Balloon-borne Experiment between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., depending on Then the ship went to the Cape Shirreff field with a Superconducting Spectrometer) the day’s needs. At that point the crew set up camp on Livingston Island to pick up one was the first balloon launched this season. camp, clean the vehicle tracks and refuel all person for the trip north. Weather was It ended its mission Wednesday near Siple the tractors before eating dinner between great as the ship started across the Drake Dome. Recovery teams have been sent to 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Passage, with calm seas and little wind. The the area to collect the data and instrument. They arrived at last season’s farthest Gould arrived in Punta Arenas Dec. 22. Meanwhile, the Cosmic Ray Energetics south point on Nov. 26, more than a month and Mass (CREAM) instrument had just earlier than last year, with about 18,000 gal- lons of fuel. Polar Star passed 90 degrees west longitude on Thursday. The balloon carrying it is on an “What a difference our trail construction By Wendy Hart elliptical path above the continent, stretch- work last year made for us this year!” John Helicopter Aviation Detachment 161 will ing from McMurdo Wright wrote in one of his be flying from the U.S. Coast Guard ice- Station around reports to McMurdo. “You will breaker Polar Star to McMurdo on Dec. 27 South Pole and have done the math from our to begin support for local scientists and ice- back toward the daily reports and figured that we breaker operations for the next six weeks. Ross Ice Shelf, have turned in a 50-mile day, and Three air crewmembers are returning to where the mission we followed that one by a 50 ½ - McMurdo this year and the remaining ones will be terminated. mile day just to show the first are looking forward to experiencing Both teams one was not a fluke.” Antarctica for the first time. report a successful The traverse team stopped for two days of maintenance on the The crewmembers, stationed at Mobile, flight and believe Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun Ala., have been onboard the Star since the they have recorded CREAM before launch. vehicles while waiting for a ship’s departure from Seattle, Wash., on valuable data. Eun- Twin Otter that swapped two Nov. 4. Four pilots and 10 flight mechanics Suk Seo, the principal investigator for members of the crew. When the team start- make up the detachment that will conduct a CREAM, based at the University of ed again, they were breaking trail through variety of missions with their two HH-65 Maryland, said some sample data plots are virgin snow and watching for crevasses as Dolphin helicopters. available online. Once CREAM was they crossed areas where glaciers pushed The first area missions were completed launched, members of the team returned into the Ross Ice Shelf. Dec. 20 when one helicopter positioned fuel within the next few days to Maryland to By Dec. 4 the traverse team found what drums at a cache on Franklin Island for follow the balloon’s progress and monitor they were expecting — deep crevasses well- upcoming science operations. The second data flow. There was a little drama when bridged with surface snow that showed up conducted a medical evacuation of one of the science flight computer stopped com- on the ground-penetrating radar sent ahead the ship’s municating briefly and some data were of the heavily loaded vehicles. crewmem- lost. The computer was rebooted. The traverse progress slowed while they bers to the Both balloons were tracking incoming use the ground-penetrating radar to search McMurdo cosmic ray particles to learn more about for a safe route around the crevasses, which medical cen- the physical universe and its origins. they found this week. ter. BESS also was seeking rare antimatter “Putting those crevasses behind us, we Once the particles. made 45 miles today, crossed the 85S paral- lel...and are right now looking down the Courtesty of Wendy Hart / helicopters Special to The Antarctic Sun begin con- Learn more about CREAM and BESS online at gunbarrel of the Leverett!” Wright wrote. A Coast Guard helicopter http://tower.nsbf.nasa.gov/ice0405.htm picks a sling load off the deck. ducting oper- December 26, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 7 Sulfurous algae clouds the sky

By Kristan Hutchison Sun staff Brown clouds of algae bobbing in the Ross Sea are partly responsible for creat- ing the white clouds floating above. The algae, called phaeocystis, produce high levels of a compound that degrades in seawater into a particular sulfur gas. That gas moves into the atmosphere, where it is largely oxidized into sulfuric acid, which forms particles that scatter sunlight and help create clouds. Aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer, Dave Kieber and Ron Kiene are studying the processes that control the cycling of sulfur in the ocean, which ultimately determines how much sulfur gas is released into the Antarctic atmosphere. The compound they are interested in has an eleven-syllable name that’s rarely used, dimethylsulfoniopropionate. Instead, it’s called DMSP and the volatile sulfur gas it produces is DMS, dimethylsulfide. “That’s a big word, but it’s actually not Photo courtesy Ron Kiene / Special to The Antarctic Sun a really big compound,” said Kiene, who Ron Kiene processes samples in the lab on the Nathaniel B. Palmer. He is currently on the NBP in the Ross Sea, continuing his study of the role an algae called phaeocystis plays in is also chief scientist for the cruise. the production of an important sulfur gas. Many kinds of algae produce DMSP, but phaeocystis produce it in concentra- DMS is removed from the seawater in Sargasso Sea and the coastal waters of the tions 10 to 20 times those found in other three ways. It can simply degrade in the North Atlantic. The Ross Sea waters also algae, such as diatoms. The high levels of sunlight; bacteria and microbes can eat it; were very rich in nitrate, one of the few DMSP produced by phaeocystis lead to or it’s drawn as a gas into the atmosphere. inorganic chemicals in seawater that is equally high levels of DMS in the “This exchange with the atmosphere is sensitive to light. The nitrate may be play- Southern Ocean, up to 100 nanomoles per what a lot of people are interested in, ing a part, possibly forming radicals that liter (0.0000001 mole/L) compared to the because that affects the atmospheric interact with DMSP to prompt the rapid average in other oceans of 2.5 nanomoles chemistry and potentially the climate,” degradation of DMS. per liter. Kiene said. “The concentration of that “It made quite an interesting story, “That’s a lot. You may be able to smell DMS in the seawater is controlling how overall,” Kiene said. “We’re anxious this that as an odor,” Kiene said. “If you want much DMS gets out in the atmosphere.” year to go back to see if we can repeat to know what DMS smells like, open up a In the atmosphere, the DMS becomes a those results, but also to see how that can of corn right off the grocery shelf and sulfate aerosol compound rising several behavior changes after the bloom of phy- then just take a whiff of that. You will get kilometers. There, it joins other aerosol toplankton has already taken place and a big blast of DMS coming out there.” particles scattering and reflecting sunlight. removed some of the nitrate and modified Corn has a chemical, similar to DMSP, Some of the sulfate particles become the water characteristics.” that becomes DMS when it goes through the core of larger particles as other tiny This year, the cruise is taking place the heat of canning. In fact, DMS is natu- particles attach to them, until they are almost two months later, reaching the rally present in a number of common large enough for water to condense on, Ross Sea when the phaeocystis bloom is foods, including beer, butter and milk. But forming clouds. A great portion of the well underway. Besides studying the cycle DMS is most common in the ocean, which acidity of rain in remote areas is the result that brings DMS into and out of the sea- is second only to the human use of fossil of DMS emissions. water, the researchers will try to establish fuels as a source of sulfur in the atmos- In November 2003, Kiene and Kieber the role of DMS as a source of food for phere. were on an abbreviated cruise that got as microbes and other animals. “It’s familiar. When you smell it, you’ll far as the ice edge. They were able to stop “It should be a pretty significant part of know it,” Kiene said. “It’s part of the smell in only one spot to sample the phaeocystis the food web,” Kiene said. of the sea.” and run their tests. The result was a paper Other researchers on board will be One of the questions Kieber and Kiene by Kieber and his postdoctoral assistant, studying other aspects of the phaeocystis. want to answer during their 38-day cruise D. Toole, in the June 2004 issue of Most were also on the cruise last year and is why the levels of DMS become so high Geophysical Research Letters. They found will be collecting the same kinds of sam- in the Southern Ocean. Is it because DMS the chemical transformation of DMSP to ples and data, in order to compare the is being produced at a fast rate or because DMS was occurring at a much higher rate times of year. (For more on last year’s it is being used up very slowly, or a com- than other places they’ve studied it, bination of the two? including the equatorial Pacific Ocean, the See Algae on page 8 8 • The Antarctic Sun December 26, 2004

Photo courtesy Ron Kiene / Special to The Antarctic Sun Dave Kieber, left, and Ron Kiene on the deck of the Nathaniel B. Palmer a year ago during their first cruise to study the role of algae in the Ross Sea in producing sulfur gases. The researchers are currently on the NBP again continuing their study. “It is a natural sunscreen,” Goes said. Algae From page 7 At the same time, Wade Jeffrey’s group from the University of South cruise, see Sun story Dec. 7, 2003) Last Florida will be studying how UV light year the cruise went at a time of year damages DNA in bacteria. when the water was well mixed, but this “Because this work is labor intensive time of year the water will develop into and all these processes are interconnected, layers, sun-warmed on top and colder it’s good to have a big group,” Goes said. waters below. “This will give us a set of contrasting NSF-funded research in this story: pictures between a well mixed water col- David J. Kieber, State University of New York umn and a stratified water column,” said Syracuse, http://www.esf.edu/chemistry/ Joaquim Goes, a biological oceanograph- kieber/kieber.htm er from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Ronald P. Kiene, University of South, Sciences in Maine. Goes and Pat Neale Alabama, http://www.southalabama.edu/ from the Smithsonian Environmental marinesciences/fac_kiene.html Research Center are trying to understand Patrick J. Neale, Smithsonian Institution, the effects of the sun’s radiation on http://www.serc.si.edu/uvb/ marine life. Phaeocystis is able to with- Ross_Sea_index.htm stand a particularly high amount of ultra- Joaquim I. Goes, Bigelow Marine Laboratory, Photo by Brenda Everitt / Special to The Antarctic Sun violet light, because it contains a class of http://www.bigelow.org/arctic/goes/index.html Some elves got to the ceremonial marker at compounds which strongly absorb UV Wade H. Jeffrey, University of West Florida, the South Pole a bit early and decorated it light and hence shield the cells from UV http://www.serc.si.edu/uvb/ for the holidays. damage. Ross_Sea_index.htm

How should the next International Polar Year (2006-07) be celebrated?

“All the DAs “We should all “Taking hero shots from all the take the Polar at the South Pole.” stations from all plunge!” the countries should get together for a barbecue.”

Karl Horeis, Tim Kramer, David Bates, McMurdo Station Palmer Station, South Pole Dining Attendant from Waste Specialist from Comms Tech. from Portland, Ore., Dubuque, Iowa, Omaha, Neb., first season third season first season December 26, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 9

“It’s all part of an Earth system and even very subtle changes have an impact.”

—David Vaughan, glaciologist

Jack Holt squeezes into the Twin Otter as 900kg of equip- ment is bolted into place. Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun AGASEAFrom page 1 the only one that hasn’t been studied “It’s always going to be very hard to flights over by long-range aircraft in the extensively. The Ross Ice Shelf drains into say that particular events are a result of 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. the Ross Sea and the Ronne Ice Shelf into changes in the Antarctic,” Vaughan said. “It’s a plausible estimate of ice thick- the Weddell Sea. But Pine Island and “It’s all part of an Earth system and even ness, but it isn’t really truth,” Vaughan Thwaites glaciers are far from established very subtle changes have an impact.” said. research stations and difficult to reach. One scenario does have a Hollywood To get the truth, the researchers plan to Bad weather delayed the construction of ring to it — the disintegration of the West fly two Twin Otters laden with 900kg of two camps for the researchers for three Antarctic Ice Sheet. Unlike the East instruments in a grid pattern over an area weeks. Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is grounded on of 290,000sqkm, roughly the size of New Glaciers and ice streams do for ice bedrock above sea level, the West Mexico. If they have no weather prob- sheets what rivers do for lakes, providing Antarctic Ice Sheet sits over a deep trough lems, by the time they’re done, the planes drainage of excess water as more precipi- that extends several kilometers below sea would have flown 113,000km, or the tates down. Ice sheets exist in an equilibri- level, making it the only marine-based ice equivalent of circling the world 2.8 times. um between the accumulation of snow sheet on the planet. Glaciologists hypothe- The airborne systems are among the high up on their plateau, and the slow out- size that if seawater infiltrated that weak most advanced in the world. The instru- ward flow of ice to the edge of the conti- underbelly, it could warm the ice sheet ments include ice-penetrating radar, gravi- nent. from below, causing it to disintegrate ty meter and magnetometer. The “It’s one of the biggest self-regulating quickly. University of Texas aircraft also carries a machines in the world,” said David “It seems so plausible we get hot under laser altimeter and camera. The system Vaughan, a glaciologist from the British the collar thinking about it,” Vaughan said. was set up in Crary Lab and then installed Antarctic Survey. “The amount of snow in The satellite photos show warning at the McMurdo sea ice runway, requiring the ice sheet itself is close to constant. signs. has sped up and four weeks, a dozen people and several That means there is no big contribution to is thinning at a rate of up to 6m per year. test flights to thoroughly evaluate all of sea level rise.” has spread out and the instruments. The British Antarctic But if the dynamics change and more thinned 25m between 1991 and 2001. Survey aircraft was configured at Rothera, ice slips into the sea than is accumulating “On a 1,500m-thick ice stream, that a British station on the Antarctic on the plateau, the sea level could gradual- might not seem all that big, but over a cen- Peninsula. ly rise. The Pine Island and Thwaites glac- tury that can be huge,” Vaughan said. The data, about 50 gigabytes per survey iers alone could raise global sea level by This could indicate that the grounding flight, will be collected on hundreds of half a meter. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet line, where the glaciers make final contact digital linear tapes. Together, the data contains enough water to raise the sea with the ground, has retreated. A change of should tell researchers how thick the ice is, level around the globe by 6m. a few meters could be enough to let the sea what the internal layers look like and what Contrary to Hollywood’s depiction, the pour in. Glaciologists don’t know for sure, kind of rocks are below it. This will allow change would be a slow rise in tides and because the only maps of the ice thickness the researchers to create a three-dimen- increase of floods, so gradual it would be and bedrock in that area come from tra- hard to notice, Vaughan said. verses nearly 50 years ago and a few See AGASEA on page 10 10 • The Antarctic Sun December 26, 2004 weather. The Amundsen Sea Embayment is infamous for bad weather, including winds exceeding 300kph, snow and ice fog. The weather and distance added to the challenge of this deep field project. Carpenters were delayed getting to the locations to set up the two camps 2,000km from McMurdo. A third camp was set up at Byrd Station to refuel the 41 LC-130 flights needed to set up and supply the camps. “We couldn’t get to this area if it weren’t for U.S. Antarctic Program sup- port,” said Vaughan. The British-American collaboration allows for two planes and more researchers to be in the field at one time, enhancing their effectiveness during the limited windows of opportunity they will be able to fly. When the weather’s good,

Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun the Texas team will make three flights a day, operating around the clock, and the In November, mechanics fit computer equipment into the Twin Otter for the survey flights. British will make one. They’re aiming to publish the first results within nine months of returning from the field, “which is From page 9 insanely soon,” said Vaughan. AGASEA That will be just a start. sional picture of the geological and glacio- and volcanoes, among other geological Reconnaissance surveys of a similar type logical conditions controlling the ice structures. Any active volcanoes or geot- were done across the continent in the sheet. hermal heat would change the temperature 1970s and spurred an entire branch of The survey area straddles three of four and speed of the ice. research. independently moving microplates, the “It’s almost certain that the geology of “Hopefully,” Morse said, “people will deepest continental rift on the planet, and this region plays a role in the ice sheet find interesting things to look at in this contains several geologically young volca- behavior,” Holt said. data for a number of years.” noes that stand high above the ice surface, The researchers originally planned to said John Holt of the University of Texas, be in the field for about nine weeks, with NSF-funded research in this story: Jack Holt, the lead investigator for the group. The the assumption that a third of the time they University of Texas, Austin, researchers expect to find subglacial lakes wouldn’t be able to fly because of bad www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/agasea

The Answers to the page 3 pop quiz 1. Silly 0-2 correct: You just took a polar plunge. Go walk 2. Neutrino: elementary particle with zero charge and around Crary. Check out a lecture. Ask people what spin, very small mass and weak interactions with they do. Learn more about what’s going on all around matter. you. Muon: elementary particle similar to an electron but with a mass that is 207 times greater. 3-5 correct: You’re on a voyage of discovery. Not Baryon: a heavy subatomic particle made up of bad. You’ve been paying attention. But there’s more three quarks. to learn. Start going to the Wednesday science lec- 3. C, it was 10,850sqkm tures. Check a book out of the library. 4. D 5. 6 meters 6-8 correct: You are a polar star. Good job. 6. False. Meteorites fall evenly over the Earth. You’ve got a handle on the many different types They’re just easier to spot on the white ice fields of science being studied here. Next step: a per- of Antarctica. fect score. Have lunch with a principle investi- 7. At least 20 million years ago, though moun- gator and start reading through those journals tain glaciers have probably been in place for upstairs in Crary. about 40 million years. 8. 22 minutes 9-10 correct: Congratulations, you are a heroic 9. 50 percent, or about 227kg/500lbs. The pups, in Antarctic explorer! If you don’t already have an turn, gain about eight times their birth weight dur- NSF grant to be here, then finish up your thesis ing their first 30 days. and apply. 10. D Sources: Doug MacAyeal, Paul Ponganis, Robert Garrott, Webster’s New World Dictionary of Science, The Antarctic Sun archives December 26, 2004 The Antarctic Sun •11 Midrats From page 1 ding, but ended up with a contract at South Pole Station, where the summer season begins a few weeks later. “I’m happy to be here,” Graciano said while cleaning up from the night shift’s lunch, or “midrats,” which was coined from the U.S. Navy’s term for midnight rations. “But it feels like no human being should be here.” Her co-workers in the kitchen realize that the South Pole is pretty much what you make it and they like to make it good. Her co-workers include sous chef Suz Same, production cook Joe Bayley and Erica Fickeisen, the station’s lead baker. It’s no secret that night shift workers in Antarctica frequently eat the best-prepared food on station. For one thing, fewer peo- ple work at night, which means more care can be put into the preparation of the meals. “I like it. Midrats is a community with- in a community,” Fickeisen said. Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun Night-shift meals are an important Joe Bayley checks on a ball of naan dough while talking with baker Erica Fickeisen, who is social aspect for those who tend to miss finishing a birthday cake for a station resident. out on a lot of station life. Good food agree on is the need for good tunes. It’s Her first winter, Same cooked for about makes for happier times. late, they’re busy cleaning up from the 60 people in the winter, about the same as “We have some freedom just because meal, prepping for breakfast and baking summer midrats this season. This coming we get to decide what we want to do on the next day’s goodies. It would be easy to winter, with construction in full swing, she more of a whim,” Fickeisen said. “But we slump if not for good music. expects to feed about 100 daily. The larger still make sure the meal gets out.” “We let Joe pick it out,” Graciano said. kitchen is key, she said. Same, the sous chef, is in her third sea- “Music has a big effect on our mood.” Fickeisen, the baker, has been working son at Pole and will take over as the lead Station construction has changed the on the next day’s breads and pastries while chef in the winter. She said it’s important way the crew does its job. This is the sec- building a birthday cake from scratch. The to create good food to keep up morale in a ond year of the new dining facility inside cakes and pies are her favorite to make, place where the summer still can be the elevated South Pole Station. It’s clean- mostly because of the immediate reaction viciously cold. er, brighter, more spacious and comfort- from those receiving the goodies. “It’s not just the food, but maintaining able than the old galley under the Dome. Creating foods from scratch at the cohesive relations with people who can’t “It’s nice to not have your feet freeze to South Pole has many challenges. The most go anywhere,” Same said. the floor when you’re working,” Same important is the altitude of the station, One thing the midrats crew always will said, remembering cold days of old. which at over 2,700m feet means most recipes must be altered or completely rethought. “Lemon meringue is impossible. I can’t get it to work to save your life,” Fickeisen said. As a first-year production cook, Bayley has been successful based on tips from Same and Fickeisen. “Less leavener, more starches,” he noted. That night he was trying to bake a small test batch of naan, the Indian bread. It seemed to go well, though larger batches may be more difficult to control. After some initial frustration, Bayley said he was settling in as a chef at the world’s southernmost kitchen. “Pole makes every other station look like summer camp,” he said while sweep- ing the floor.

Lead midrats chef Suz Same wipes down a counter as she prepares ingredients for another meal in the Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun South Pole station kitchen. 12 • The Antarctic Sun December 26, 2004 Profile Ice got in Banks’ blood early By Brien Barnett At the film school, Banks made Sun staff several short films and said he learned Few people can say they’ve spent a lot. He plans to use that soon if his five seasons in Antarctica. Fewer still plans come together early in 2005 for are just 23 years old an adventure film set in Antarctica. Forest Banks fancied himself a The project, which Banks said is photographer before he started work- finalizing its funding, is tentatively ing with the U.S. Antarctic Program at called “Songs of Drifters,” and will 19. It was the chance to photograph feature snowboarders, skiers and oth- the last unexplored continent that ers who will make the voyage by sail- brought him to the Ice and a job coor- boat across the Drake Passage from dinating South Pole cargo. South America to the fjords and “I wanted to photograph wildlife, islands of the Antarctic Peninsula. anything I could get my hands on that “They are un-sponsored, have a would be different,” Banks said while passion for life and adventure and for at McMurdo Station earlier this sea- some reason are willing to leave their son. lives, work, families and pets at home Not one for college, Banks had left while they play in the world’s wonder- the states for New Zealand to see the lands,” Banks said, describing the world and work on his photography. people he hopes to feature in the film. He heard about Antarctic jobs and had Back on the Ice, Banks had an offer applied that first year as a janitor or to return to his cargo position. During general assistant. Instead he was the summer, however, Banks received given the cargo job. He credits good an invitation to work with a team of luck. hot water drillers out of Madison, “The only experience I had was Wisc. They will be working on Photo by Rahman Amanullah / Special to The Antarctic Sun managing a Mailboxes Etc. store,” Forest Banks, who is working with a hot water IceCube, a planned particle detector Banks said. “I think my resume land- drilling team at the South Pole, started working buried in the glacial ice at South Pole ed on top.” in cargo at South Pole Station when he was 19. that will require dozens of 2km-deep It was a position of responsibility holes to be drilled there. and he wanted to make the most of it. He weighed whether to return to Banks’ tenacity got him through that year, and kept him “the lifestyle at McMurdo that I’ve grown accustomed to and coming back for the next several years, at McMurdo, then Pole, enjoy” or take the job at Pole. In the end, he decided that a new and back to McMurdo last season. While at Pole, Banks met Antarctic experience, better pay and a return to the Pole were and befriended scientists and other people working on science worth it and decided to work with IceCube, becoming its projects and let them know he was interested in working with youngest member. them in the future. “The day after my last class, I hopped in my Volvo and head- He said he enjoyed working for cargo but wanted a new ed for Madison to work with IceCube,” Banks said. experience. Then a death in his family drew him back home “It’s quite a step up for a young man,” said Jeff Cherwinka, quickly after the season. Once family matters were settled, of Triad Project Management, who played a part in hiring Banks did some traveling and then pursued another love: film- Banks. making. “Forest had experience on the Ice Banks enrolled in a course to “The only experience I had and had good positive attitude and learn how to direct films. It’s some- really wanted to be here,” Cherwinka thing he’s wanted to do for a while. was managing a Mailboxes said. Two years earlier he began organiz- The goal of the IceCube drillers ing a film project about people who Etc. store. I think my this season is to get all their gear put it all on the line, from family and resume landed on top.” sorted, tested and working so they money to bodies and souls, for the can drill at least one and as many as next big adventure. It was still in his four test holes before the summer mind when he packed his bags for — Forest Banks, on being offered his season ends. It will be a rush to the his first trip to the East Coast and first job in Antarctica five years ago. end. Boston to attend the New York Film “I’ll learn most on the spot,” Academy’s intensive directing Banks said. course. Two months into the job and The class was taught on the campus of Harvard University. Banks said in an e-mail that, just as he suspected, he’s been Once there, Banks wandered around the Ivy League campus enduring and cracking jokes about his youth. However, he said amazed by the renowned institution. he loves his work and working with the crew there. “It felt more chill than I expected,” said Banks, who has “Being a part of such an amazing project, full of wonderful been sporting funky dreads in his blond hair this season. “I people and tons of learning to be had, is just what I needed this found Boston to be really cool and friendly.” season,” Banks wrote. “Life’s just good. I’m enjoying it fully!”